| October 21, 2005 Alaskan in Exile by Neil Zawicki Pat Tillman. Right? The guy that gave up an NFL contract to join the U.S. Army Rangers after 9-11. The guy that was killed in Afghanistan in a friendly fire incident. The guy that was absolutely against the war in Iraq, and who made plans to meet with leftist thinker Noam Chomsky. The guy who refused to be the army’s poster boy. What better model than Pat Tillman for the absolute fantasy world the conservatives occupy. I’m talking about everybody who sides with the conservative agenda. Each and every one of you is living in a wishful, black and white world that rivals evening television in 1950s for glitter and artificial notions of reality. When he was killed, conservative columnist Ann Coulter went on and on about Pat Tillman, saying what a perfect American man he was, and how solid and virtuous and wonderful and bronze and hunky or what ever it was that she said. Coulter couldn’t accept, however, the revelations that Tillman was against Bush and against the war and planned to meet with Chomsky. It doesn’t fit the fantasy. She’s right about his character, though. She doesn’t understand that she’s right, but she is. Pat Tillman was every bit American, because he did not blindly accept the policies of his nation. He was every bit American because he was an independent thinker. When did that become un-American? And to all those who say they love their country, I say, love it like you would a family member. If it is going in the wrong direction or developing self-destructive habits, take action to help. Do not just accept and follow. Is that so hard to understand? Pat Tillman died an American soldier who questioned the leadership of his nation. It took three months for the Pentagon to reveal that he was killed by his own troops. Pat Tillman won’t go away for the conservatives. He is the sum of their folly. And why aren’t Bush’s daughters in the military? They’re the right age, and fiercely conservative and steadfast in favor of the war. Why aren’t they in uniform? I just wanted to ask you that. Burning under Tillman’s flag-draped coffin is a growing pyre of GOP deceit. Karl Rove is testifying in the Valerie Plame CIA leak scandal, and may soon be indicted. Tom Delay is not yet out of the woods, Bush has the lowest approval rating yet at 40 percent, and generals are saying the Iraq War is militarily unwinnable. Is that so hard to understand? It’s not working. The GOP leadership is falling apart, and even their favorite fantasies are turning on them now. Lately, I’ve noticed the conservative community playing the “guess who won?” card. All they have left is the retort that they control the majority and won the election and that the Democrats are losers. What does that have to do with the fact that Karl Rove is testifying in the Valerie Plame CIA leak scandal, and may soon be indicted, and that Tom Delay is not yet out of the woods, Bush has the lowest approval rating yet at 40 percent, and generals are saying the Iraq War is militarily unwinnable? The conservative “we won, losers!” argument turns them into the shirtless fat guy in the bleachers with the beer hat and an elephant painted on his chest, chanting “G-O-P! G-O-P!” This is not to say the Democrats aren’t a mess, because they are. And it is a giant shame when a party can’t get it together long enough to make an honest run at a crippled beast. Indeed. I have shaky confidence in the Democrats these days, but I have solid contempt for the GOP, and pity for its followers. This is a pivotal time for Americans, and we can’t afford to make a loose move. What would Pat Tillman do at a time like this? Neil Zawicki, exiled Alaskan, is Editor at Large for Insurgent49, a former reporter for the Alaska Star, and winner of the Alaska Press Club's 'Best Columnist' award. He is now living out the rest of his days in an undisclosed location in Oregon. He can be contacted at - neil@insurgent49.com |
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October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 29, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 - also by this
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Reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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